1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to fixed wireless loop networks having stations which each provide wireless communication service to a plurality of remote units. In particular, the invention relates to efficiently assigning each remote unit to a particular station.
2. Background of the Invention
Wireless local loop technology is becoming an increasingly popular technology for providing communication service such as telephony, television programming, etc. A fixed wireless loop network includes a plurality of stations. Each station communicates through airlinks with a plurality of remote units that are positioned near the location of the end user. The end user generally receives the communication service directly from the remote unit.
Stations are often positioned so any of several stations could provide communication service to a single remote unit. However, for effective allocation of system resources, a single station must be selected to provide the communication service to a remote unit. Because several variables can affect which station is the best station for providing the communication service to a particular remote unit, remote units are often inefficiently assigned to stations. An inefficient assignment of remote units can overload stations and cause the quality of communication service to decrease. As a result, there is a need for a method of efficiently allocating remote units within a fixed wireless loop network.